Microsoft Says It Has Trained Over 4 Million Nigerians in Five Years
- Microsoft says more than four million Nigerians have received digital skills training since 2021 through its partnership with the federal government
- The company said it plans to train an additional 350,000 Nigerians in artificial intelligence skills under its National AI Skills Initiative
- Microsoft executives say Nigeria must invest in AI skills to benefit from Africa’s projected $1.5 trillion AI-driven growth by 2030
Oluwatobi Odeyinka is a business editor at Legit.ng, covering energy, the money market, technology and macroeconomic trends in Nigeria.
Microsoft has said its partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria has helped deliver digital skills training to more than four million Nigerians since 2021.
The Director of Government Affairs at Microsoft for West Africa, Nonye Ujam, disclosed this on Tuesday during a media roundtable held in Lagos, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Ujam said the achievement reflected Nigeria’s growing commitment to building a strong digital economy. She added that recent data showed about 350,000 individuals are currently engaged in Microsoft’s specialised student-focused programmes.
Source: Getty Images
She disclosed that 63,000 participants have completed specific training pathways, while 43,000 Nigerians have earned globally recognised certifications through the programmes.
Ujam also announced plans to train an additional 350,000 Nigerians in artificial intelligence (AI) skills, describing it as a major milestone under Microsoft’s National AI Skills Initiative (AINSI).
She explained that the initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the federal government, Data Science Nigeria and Lagos Business School, with a broader target of upskilling five million Nigerians.
Ujam said Microsoft is also supporting developers through targeted programmes and government-led initiatives such as Developers in Government (DevsInGov) and the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
She noted that about 645 participants have been trained in analytics and AI integration, while another 1,000 developers have acquired advanced skills in areas including DevOps, machine learning and data science.
“These efforts are helping Nigeria’s workforce prepare for the future by advancing AI fluency across the digital ecosystem,” she said.
Also speaking at the event, the Country General Manager for Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana, Abideen Yusuf, said Nigeria’s AI adoption rate currently stands at 8.7%, slightly below the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 10%, Premium Times reported.
Yusuf said that with Africa’s economy projected to gain up to $1.5 trillion from AI by 2030, Nigeria must position its youthful population, with a median age of 18, to play a leading role in the sector.
He said Microsoft is focusing on innovation, infrastructure and skills development, adding that collaboration with the government is helping to build a future-ready workforce.
The Dean of Lagos Business School, Olayinka David-West, said the partnership has trained 99 public sector leaders from 58 government agencies.
She stressed that AI skills must go beyond technical knowledge to include governance, ethics and risk management.
David-West added that the second phase of the AINSI programme aims to reach one million Nigerians over the next three years, noting that AI skills are now essential for national competitiveness.
Also contributing, the founder of Data Science Nigeria, Bayo Adekanmbi, represented by Business Lead Aanu Oyeniran, said Microsoft’s support had strengthened grassroots training by empowering 38 partners nationwide with learning infrastructure.
Source: Getty Images
Adekanmbi said the collaboration showed that AI readiness requires coordinated investment from government, educators, developers and communities to build a globally competitive workforce.
Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to making AI widely accessible and responsibly deployed, with the goal of empowering individuals and organisations to achieve more.
FG confirms 13.5m Nigerian accounts deleted by TikTok, Google, Microsoft
Legit.ng earlier reported that 13.5 million Nigerian accounts were deleted across Microsoft, TikTok, and Google, and were said to have contained posts that violated Nigeria’s Code of Practice.
The federal government confirmed the update in a recent statement, saying that the accounts were deleted over offensive content.
According to the National Technology Development Agency, 58,909,112 offensive contents were deleted from the platforms.
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